2 Victims In Burning Car May Have Died Accidentally

Police Officers found two people dead in a burning car with Wisconsin license plates on the eastbound Edens Spur in Northbrook early Wednesday, and after a preliminary investigation, detectives believe they could have died accidentally.

The unidentified bodies of a male and female, both African-Americans in their mid-30s, were huddled in the back seat of a 1991 Lexus sitting on the shoulder of the Edens about a mile from the split of the southbound Tri-State Tollway and past the Waukegan Road exit.

Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Harold Masse said authorities received a call that a vehicle was on fire at 5:14 a.m. The car's tinted windows prevented firefighters from seeing anyone inside, Masse said, and it wasn't until a rescuer reached inside the unlocked vehicle to release the hood latch that the bodies were spotted.

Masse said investigators believe the couple, whose bodies showed no signs of trauma, could have pulled off the road to rest, left the car running and fallen victim to smoke from an engine fire.

Flames destroyed the engine compartment of the black Lexus, leaving the skeletal remains of the car hood, shattering the windshield and melting the front tires.

The fire did not reach the back of the car or the bodies, Masse said. They were found, dressed in jogging suits, the female on the driver's side and the male on the passenger side, leaning into the woman. They appeared to have been resting, Masse said.

No drugs, alcohol or firearms were found in the car.

"There's no obvious signs of foul play," Masse said.

Investigators had not ruled out the possibility of suicide in the deaths, Masse said.

The Northbrook Fire Department responded to the blaze. "We don't know how long the car was there," said Northbrook Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeff Lewis. The bodies were taken to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office shortly after 10 a.m.

Traffic was backed up about a half-mile as investigators examined the vehicle.